Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to sensors, and more specifically, to a multi-layered high-dynamic range sensor.
Background
An imaging system depends on an image sensor to generate an electronic representation of a visual image. Examples of image sensors include charge coupled device (CCD) image sensors and active pixel sensor (APS) devices. Typically, these images sensors include a plurality of light sensitive pixels (or sensing elements) arranged in a regular pattern of rows and columns.
The quality of an image captured on an imaging sensor partly depends on the dynamic range of the image sensor. Thus, an image sensor that can provide a wider dynamic range than the dynamic range provided by the conventional image sensor is desirable. For example, when capturing scenes that include drastic lighting changes with brightness from direct sunlight to deep shadow, the stronger light saturates the sensing elements and the actual light radiance, corresponding to those saturated elements, cannot be obtained. Accordingly, high dynamic range sensors are needed for capturing scenes that include such drastic lighting changes.